Adventures in Dating and Upcoming Induction Day

Adventures in Dating: I wanted to share yet another Matthew and Kelly Grant adventure in our still well alive dating life :) I know we will continue to make time for even more adventures to come---life is too short not to!!

Last Friday we had yet another traveling type date. After picking Matthew up at the Metro we came home to eat up our left overs in the fridge for our main course...then the date began, with a few "budget" rules in place...just to make it challenging.

1. Dessert: Had to be eaten out and must $10 or less tax, tip, etc. included
2. Mission: We went on a quest to find a hat for me and discs for Matthew. The only rule was each of us only had $15 including tax to purchase our prizes
3. Coffee: Whatever we had a gift card (with an unknown balance) had to cover the cost

Rules in place, we set out on our adventure!! Dessert took place at Friday's where we enjoyed a slice of peanut butter pie and successfully followed the rules!

Our prize mission took an interesting turn. After looking for our respective prizes we came up empty-handed. Defeated, we approached the exit of Target when Matthew hesitated, then stopped. He said "You have ten minutes to surprise me with something $15 or less and I will surprise you". Excited, I agreed and set out to the second floor (where the men's department is) to find my goodies and check out. Exactly 10 minutes later, I came down the escalator with a bag of prizes in my hand to find a smiling Matthew with a bag in his hand. We exchanged prizes over coffee at Starbucks.

Yet another adventure to add to our story...I cannot wait to see what we add next!

Matthew's prize: Vintage green eggs and ham shirt we have been WAITING to get the right size in and Reese's eggs :)
Kelly's prize: Vanilla cup cake candle (to quench the crazy cupcake cravings I have been having), knee socks that I would totally where during labor if there was not white on them and some lip smackers!!!

Upcoming Induction Day: Well, tomorrow is the big day. Despite all our efforts to get Blessing to come on his/her own, it is just not going to happen; so at 10 days overdue, we will be induced. Happy Birthday Blessing on March 31! I am truly not nervous about the labor part and if we have to have a c-section that's fine too---we just want Blessing here safely!!

Aside from actually seeing Blessing arrive healthy and safely, I am most looking forward to seeing Matthew with our baby for the first time. I am a little partial here, but I think he is going to be the best Daddy ever of all times ever and since we found out we were having a baby this is what I keep dreaming about (literally).

It might be a few days before I can post again, so thank you to everyone for your prayers tomorrow and throughout the entire pregnancy. We love you and cannot wait to announce the arrival of our Blessing!!!!

03.29.10, 41 weeks....and the final profile shot :)

Quick Blessing and Piper Update

BLESSING: So, we went to the doctor yesterday (Tuesday)...Blessing is still making very good progress considering no active labor yet.

• Heartbeat: good----CHECK
• Positioning: Head down, very low, already in an anterior position----CHECK
• Mommy's Blood Pressure: Remains low----CHECK
• Effacement: 50-60% ----CHECK
• Overall: Barring no strange complications, the midwife feels very confident we should still be able to have a natural birth and she thinks I am built for it, yay! Glad to know these Gambrell Hips are coming in handy----CHECK
  
• Arrival: NOT YET----NO CHECK!!!

Knowing that being more than 10 days overdue can put the baby's health at risk, the doctors have scheduled an induction for Wednesday, March 31 at 8 AM!!! We (along with our midwives) are very hopeful the induction is NOT necessary.

It's hard to believe that we will have an actually kid here within a week---yikes!!!

PIPER: Piper is still very uncomfortable but we are getting her medicine regiment down to an art. In order for her to keep herself from doing anything to the wound, she makes herself lay down. For those of you who have had the pleasure of meeting Piper, you know being lazy is not her style---so its hard to watch her just lay around so much. Hopefully the wound will heal soon so she can be back to her normal peppy self---we miss her :)

Picnic, Piper and OVERDUE

PICNIC: In our continuing efforts to expedite Blessing's arrival Matthew had a great idea to Picnic at the National Mall in D.C. and visit the Lincoln Memorial. After taking the metro into the city, we walked to the mall (which is the area between U.S. Capitol past the Washington Monument to the Lincoln Memorial and over to the Jefferson Memorial) and enjoyed a picnic next to the reflection pool looking towards the Lincoln Memorial. Upon the conclusion of our meal, we visited Ole Abe and just POWER walked around D.C. to not only entice Blessing to HURRY IT UP but also to enjoy each other and the BEAUTIFUL weather.

We estimate we walked two more miles that day and still.....no Blessing :)

Matthew and I both agree that we LOVE living in D.C.!!!

YES we have a tripod and YES we still love self portraits :)
When we becomes THREE, we will use the tripod!!!


The Waddle, Live and in Color. Plus D.C. in the Spring!

View from the picnic spot. We are at the reflection pool looking at the Lincoln Memorial (above) and one end and the Washington Monument on the other end (below)

Blessing's first visit to meet ole Abe at the Lincoln Memorial

Patriotic Popsicle before calling it a day! We are still kids at heart :)

PIPER: After arriving home from the Picnic and D.C., we noticed Piper was bleeding from a ruptured gland. For those of you with sensitive stomachs, I will spare you any further details of her ailment---all you need to know is, she was IN PAIN. We cleaned her up as much as possible and tied a bandage on her to prevent her from aggravating the wound. After waiting to be seen for 3 hours at the vet Sunday morning, we learned that she would need a minor surgery. Everything is fine now, but she is definitely still in pain and NOT her sweet peppy self. She is taking about 5 medications multiple times throughout the day at the moment and will be for several weeks; not to mention she has stitches which will need to be removed on April 4th. So, we may not have our Blessing to take care of yet, but this is close enough!!!!!! I have a feeling Piper will need more care than the baby. So, for all my helpers coming in town over the next few weeks---we may need more Piper help than BABY help, ah the irony :) :) I admit, we have had a few laughs at her expense--E -collars and bandages are funny on her :)

Piper with the Bandage on----so sad but so funny. It took LOTS of convincing to get her to walk with that on!

NOW, Piper with an E-Collar. Sad but HILARIOUS when she walks around with it.
She does not deal with it well. She stood up until 2:30 AM last night when I finally gave in and slept on the couch with her!

QUICK BLESSING UPDATE: We are officially overdue, unless Blessing comes in the next 12 hours, which is HIGHLY doubtful. We have a doctor's appointment Tuesday, March 23 (one day overdue) so I hope to have even more good news about progress towards delivery AND hoping we do not have to induce :)

Where are you Blessing?

39 Week Update

Top of the morning to all my blogger friends (had to throw a lil Irish in there in honor of St. Patrick's day)! Not too much to update this week on "Blessing", other than we are still waiting for the imminent arrival. Doctor's visit revealed all normal measurements for mommy and baby---BP: 110/65 (yes, it has been this low all along and when not pregnant I am in the 90's), Baby Heartbeat: 156, Fundal Height: 38 cm. According to BabyCenter.com, Blessing is the size of a mini watermelon, that's big if you ask me.

Midwife Gina shared with me that I am very effaced---which is good....it did not take full out labor to accomplish that!!! YAY!!! She does antipate seeing me at my next visit---one day AFTER the due date. She recommended taking Evening Primrose Oil (a vitamin) three times a day to help with the onset of labor; I did not waste anytime putting her recommendation into action! I refer to the vitamins as "Bring on the Labor Pills"...so....BRING IT ON!!!! I will do anything to help us avoid an induction---so I follow the doctor's orders :)

God is in control of the timing, place and method that "Blessing" arrives. We knew all along that God had a special plan for our precious "Blessing" since against the odds, we got pregnant. I have a sense of peace about the delivery and being a Mommy and I truly anticipate it to be a wonderful experience for Matthew and I. Now I must relinquish over to him my anxieties about life when we get home from "Blessing's" birth! We feel so privileged and honored to be called to be parents. Each day we pray that the Lord teaches us how to be Godly parents and how to raise our children to be not only followers but PASSIONATE followers. If you can give us anything, please bless us with your prayers to be the parents God called us to be!!!

Blessing at 39 weeks.
I need to start taking these in the morning instead of 9 PM at night...I look so tired....because I AM....LOL!

The Latest and Greatest

Alice and Wonderland: Matthew and I saw Alice and Wonderland Sunday afternoon...it was SO good!! I highly recommend it for adults...NOT kids, it is a bit scary. WARNING: If you do not appreciate other Tim Burton films you may not enjoy this one. It is the quintessential Tim Burton/Johnny Dep movie; dark, amazing costuming, great human/animation combination, symbolism, and more!! Remember, this is NOT the traditional Alice and Wonderland story we all read as children (or watched the Disney animated film).

Progressive Dinner Date Night: We have been trying to find time for Matthew's great idea for a Progressive Dinner Date night...and we finally found time tonight!! For those unfamiliar with the concept, basically we go to a different restaurant for each course. I recommend this for other couples----it's like 3 to 4 dates in one, try it. And a summary....

• Appetizer: Bonefish Grill for Bang Bang shrimp and bread with dipping sauce. There was a 75 minute wait so we shared a table with two other random families in the bar area (for those of you wondering, there is no smoking in restaurants here). It was fun talking with the other families.
• Main Course: After making a Target pitstop to look for St. Patrick's day and Easter socks for niece LC (unsuccessful might I add), we headed to Silver Diner for the "main" course. With such a diverse menu, it took us about 30 minutes to decide what to eat. We ended up with a smorgasbord of diner appetizers......and a salad :) We selected four songs for the jukebox to play, but after we waited for an hour to hear them---we decided the cue was entirely too long and eventually gave up. We entertained ourselves by playing games such as tic-tac-toe, hang man and 21 questions. Matthew dominated pretty much all the games.
• Dessert: By the time we finished the other meals, we were feeling full so we defaulted to the ole tried and true Starbuckaroos for some Java!!

Our purchase at Target between Appetizer and Main Course. My first pair of St. Patrick's Day socks!!

Hmmm....what should we order??

Waiting for our tunes to play!!

Matthew actually won both these tic-tac-toe games...I had to cheat to win :) And yes---we wrote on our napkins!

PIPER!!! Just had to share Piper with her Early Easter present. Gotta love the dollar bin at Target!

Are We There Yet?.....38 Weeks Update: Uneventful doctor's appointment as with all the others. Everything is right on track with both Baby and Mom....well on track according to the Doctors :) On track to ME would be....Blessing is here LOL! We did not get an ultrasound as we thought, but hearing the heartbeat is just as good. They will do an ultrasound at 40 weeks if Blessing has not made his/her debut. Although we are anticipating the arrival, Matthew and I are just using this time to go on as many dates as possible!

38 weeks....notice its a little lower??